Customer Reviews

KitchenAid KHB100ER Hand Blender, Empire Red

5 star:		(70)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I love handblenders. I have this one and its attachments, and I use it pretty regularly. I have two complaints: 1) the powercord is thick, cumbersome, and hard to keep out of one's way. I had a cordless unit from a different manufacturer before, and I must say--the extra power here is nice, but I'm not 100% convinced the hassle of the cord is really worth that extra umph very often. 2) and here's the kicker--there's no actual "on" switch. You've got to hold it on the whole time. I really wanted to give one to my mom for Xmas, but she simply doesn't have the hand-strength any longer to make use of this unit. It takes me two hands to keep it held "on," and my hands cramp up when I've got something that I need to blend for a sustained amount of time. That said, this is a lovely unit (I adore the red color), and I get lots of use out of it. I just would have liked a chance to think about those two issues before I bought it (about a year ago), and certainly before I gave it for a gift.

I bought this to replace a Braun I had for 15 + years. This was to replace the cheap Braun on which the motor finally gave out after thousands of uses. I have the most expensive Braun and it is the best ever made, however Braun has stopped making hand blenders all together (I wrote to Braun and that is what they told me). I have always thought kitchen aid to be a great product and in the past they were, until they sold out to Westinghouse. The blender works well, although the slowest speed is higher than medium speed on my Braun.

The problem is the seal on the bottom of the mixing shaft under the blade. There is a rubber gasket or sealer that does not seal, but traps blended food under it. After a through washing and allowing it to stand and dry the food particles leak out and dry. I used mine daily, week days at work, to make a whole food/protein shake. Each day I washed it thoroughly and dried it. The next day I would take it to make my shake and note that particles of yesterdays shake had seeped out from under the rubber seal. I tried cleaning under the seal on the outside only to discover that the problem also appears to be in the center next to the shaft where it is impossible to clean. I could actually see food trapped half under the rubber seal and there is no way to clean it out. My shakes are green in color and I can see the green, gradually turn to brown, on the outer edge of the rubber seal and again whole food trapped under the center.

Amazon has been great about returning products that are defective and has assured me that they will get me a full refund for this product. My problem now is finding a quality hand blender equal to the top of the line Braun to replace this KA.

If i can see the very bottom where the blade and seal are it would make the purchase easier. Braun put a stainless steel plate with an O ring in the center and what appears to be a durable sealant on the base. That is how you make a quality product, not the way kitchen aid made this product. If they would fix this problem, the rest of the blender has worked fine 5 days a week for 4 months.

This among other KitchenAid products were a wedding gift. I absolutely LOVE this blender. It's been great for making smoothies in the morning for breakfast and also as an ice grinder. It has 9 speeds which allow for any consistancy. I highly recommend this product.

I had one of these that had a battery and the recharger hung on the wall with its attachments. I loved it, it was light and convenient. It finally broke and they don't make them that way anymore.

This whips up a storm, its detachable head cleans perfectly in the dishwasher with no fuss. It has tremendous power and its design sucks the food into the blade and a circular motion is set up for efficient blending. It does not whip cream, you need a whisk or beater for that. Instead it would turn cream to butter. It is kind of heavy but stands up on its own without tipping over. The beaker is the perfect container. It is kind of tall and the cord has so much memory that it takes up too much space on the shelf over my sink where I keep it. There is no safety. At all. If it were plugged in and you accidently hit the switch while your finger were in the blade, they would be chopped up. Because of this, it should never be stored plugged in. But overall, I do like it and I use it often. If I had small children, I would not have this in the house. And if I were teaching a child to cook, I would never, ever use it.

I bought this on a whim when I wanted to make a soup that needed to be pureed. It pureed it like a dream, very quickly--whole cloves of garlic vanished. It was much more convenient than putting HOT soup in a blender, small quantities at a time. What a mess that made!
Whether or not this is a worthwhile purchase for you really depends on your needs in your kitchen.
That being said, here are a few thoughts:
1. It's a little bit heard to clean the underside of the blade by hand. Probably the best way would be to immerse it in hot soapy water and blend. I personally prefer cleaning things like this immediately rather than putting it in the dishwasher, but it certainly is dishwasher-safe.
2. No ON switch, just pulse. But I find that preferable, as the pulse switch is located on the grip, and considering the sharpness of the blades, it's a good safety feature.
3. Power levels go up to 9, but I find the lower setting to generally be sufficient. When the setting is too high, the blades create a powerful suction with the bottom of the container. This can grow annoying at times.
4. This doesn't replace a blender nor does it replace a handmixer. If you make shakes or smoothies, soups, or other foods requiring puree, and find your blender for some of these to be cumbersome, this product may be something to consider.
5. The cup it comes with seemed really handy when I opened the box, but so far I've used it for nothing more than a holding container for the appliance on my counter top.

i used mine, maybe 10-times, then it broke. the inner workings (the drive shaft and the gear box--the thing that make the blade turn) are all made out of plastic. the plastic breaks very easily and your blender is worthless.

i had to throw mine out after about 10 uses.

Ironically i thought the KitchenAid mixer would be an upgrade to the 10model i picked up at the cheap store.... i wish i had hung on to that cheap ten dollar version, as it had well over 100 uses with no problems.

i chose the expensive brand name and the sleek look of the KitchenAid Mixer, you however, should not.

j

This hand blender is GREAT because I make fresh salsa often and it's a lot easier to use and clean this hand blender than to use my food processor. The attachments are easy to remove and store. I've looked at a few different hand blenders and I think that quality will always be worth the extra money you put into the product. It's been worth it.

Have stuck my old blender in the cupboard. This is so convenient with the detachable motor - lays flat in a drawer. Clean up is fast. What SOLD me, was the stainless steel blade. I keep finding new uses for it, from bread crumbs to cream soups!

This is a great machine... Although it is somewhat larger than our old stick blender, there is something to be said for size, it does matter. With 9 speeds you can do almost anything. Frozen drinks are a snap. It crushes ice better than a hammer. Clean-up is easy and quick. This is a heavy duty machine that will be used often.

I have owned about 5 different hand blenders. My first experience was with a cheap yard sale purchase. I loved the concept, and purchased more as I killed them off. I finally wised up and started reading reviews. This is my second Kitchen Aid. On the first one, I stripped the plastic gears on the motor part. The motor still works, but the wand will no longer turn the blade. Be careful to make sure your wand is securely engaged before using. This is one powerful hand mixer. I have blown out the side of 2 plastic cups when I used large ice-cubes!